New Future Nemesis for Novak Djokovic Comes to Fore After Repeated Carlos Alcaraz Failures Result in Lack of Faith

A few days back the 36YO Serbian icon, Novak Djokovic revealed that the young guns have awakened the ‘beast’ in him. The Serbian had faced some stiff challenges this year from the rising talents of the racket sport. But who’ll be his biggest threat to his Venticinquesimo (25th) next year? Well, Roger Federer’s former coach picks Djokovic’s main challenger for 2024. Who is it?

The 44YO coach and a former number 3 in men’s singles, Ivan Ljubicic has picked the 22-year-old Jannik Sinner as the Serb’s biggest rival for the 2024 season. Although Sinner hasn’t won a Grand Slam yet in his career, he has made some huge strides this year by winning 4 titles in 2023. The No. 4 has led Italy to their first Davis Cup triumph after almost a gap of 47 years. Let’s find out what Roger Federer‘s former coach has to say on Sinner outclassing others and becoming a real threat to Djokovic’s 25th Grand Slam triumph.

It’s not the no.2 or no.3 but Roger Federer’s former coach picks no.4 as the biggest rival for Novak Djokovic

The 24 Grand Slam titles holder has clinched 7 titles this year including 3 out of 4 Grand Slams. But even after having one of the best seasons of his career, there is a slight worry for him in the name of Jannik Sinner. Both of them engaged in several nail-biting encounters this year. Who will get the upper hand next year? We’ll have to wait a bit for this answer but Ivan Ljubicic, a friend of Novak Djokovic is quite impressed with the Italian.

Although Carlos Alcaraz was touted to be Djokovic’s main rival Ljubicic thinks otherwise. He said, “Sinner is Djokovic’s main rival at the moment, I see him just ahead of Alcaraz and Medvedev. Jannik is a top of the top.” Ljubicic had earlier heaped praise on the 22-year-old Italian as he said Sinner has a ‘perfect’ attitude with nothing left for him to learn.

Surely the No. 4 in the world has enormous potential and he’s proved himself time and again this season. But can he hold on to his consistency? Let’s have a look at the rise of the new rivalry in the tennis world.

Jannik Sinner’s incredible run against Djokovic in 2023

The rivalry was born in 2021 and took its shape in 2022 before becoming a hot topic in 2023. Although Novak Djokovic leads the H2H by a 4-2 margin, Sinner’s latest victory over the Serb will keep him on the edge of his seat. Their recent Davis Cup meeting marked their 3rd face-off in 11 days. How many more to come next year?

READ MORE: Roger Federer’s Former Coach Puts Forward A Plan For Tennis’ Sustainably As He Takes Inspiration From Fast-moving Sports Like Chess And Cricket

Novak Djokovic recently expressed his displeasure at the snub of Goran Ivanisevic (Djokovic’s coach) in the ATP 2023 Coach of The Year Award. He lost to the ones who guided his rival Jannik Sinner to a breakthrough season this year.

Now, the Serb believes only a clean sweep at the majors can help his 52-year-old Croatian coach his most awaited award. Will this recent development add a new dimension to the Djokovic-Sinner rivalry?

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